Reach for the Stars!

Old Salem’s president and board believed that through Michelle’s leadership, the development office’s capacity would increase and help retire the operating deficit over three fiscal years — all the while funding programmatic expansion and growth. In just nine months under her guidance, Old Salem increased its development revenue 310 percent from $1.4 million to $5.7 million; the number of donors grew from 783 to 1,596 — a 104 percent increase; and visitation increased 20 percent.
All of this growth occurred simultaneously as Michelle took on the task of persuading the organization’s leadership to invest in her development team, which when she arrived stood at 1.5 full-time employees. Michelle successfully lobbied the president and board to invest in her department, enabling her to hire a director of grants, director of development, manager of gift records and a manager of membership.